The Living Years
by Hobbsy3
Summary: A series of drabbles based around my longer fic "Strangers Like Me", The Living Years will feature life in the Lonely Mountain for our dwarves and hobbits, 'deleted scenes' from Strangers, character backstories and anything in particular that you, the reader, would like to see. There will likely be a little bit of everything - fluff, angst, family, even some romance.


**Hello and welcome to a set of drabbles based around my ridiculously long fanfic,** ** _Strangers Like Me,_** **in which Kíli is raised by Bilbo. There will shortly be an actual sequel with a linear plot and (fingers crossed) regular updating, but in the meantime we have ( to provide scenes that didn't quite fit into either storyline, and to explore the twenty odd years in between the two.**

 **This fic will be updated whenever I feel the need to – I expect it will be fairly regularly at first as I have many scenes in mind – and whenever an idea is suggested by you, the reader. If you have a scene you'd like to see, send a review or a pm and let me know. If it won't disrupt the storyline I'll do my best to put it in, even if it's as vague as 'more of Bifur please!'**

 **Anyway, I do hope you enjoy the first of my drabbles, please forgive any mistakes I've made.**

 **# The Barefoot Prince #**

The dwarves of Erebor were used to strange behaviour from their princes. It did not come as a surprise to anyone that Kíli had some strange mannerisms after being raised in the Shire, and it only seemed logical that some of those oddities would rub off onto the crown prince, too.

Since they performed their duties perfectly and often went above and beyond for their people, no one minded their eccentricities. To many, it was endearing to see Kíli leading large games of stuck in the mud in Hlín's Arena, or walking around to New Dale in bare feet and returning with a basket of fresh fruits and vegetables under his arms.

However, visiting dwarves were often surprised to see a full grown prince in shorts and a waistcoat, or with a crown of flowers in his hair.

On one particularly sunny day, three years after Kíli and his hobbits had moved into Erebor, a delegation from the Red Mountains arrived to draw up more detailed political agreements between the High Lord of the Orocarni and the King under the Mountain. Thanks to fair weather and an unusually quiet road they had arrived a week early, and they were stunned to see a small group of dwarves and halfings on their hands and knees in the dirt outside of the mountain.

As the group of strangers paused, a young dark haired dwarf noticed them and sprang to his feet.

"You must be the envoy from the Orocarni," he bowed his head slightly, but remained upright and did not bow at the waist. "Welcome."

"My thanks," said Lord Bjor, the son of High Lord Bjorák, bowed his head stiffly. "I hope the King under the Mountain will not be inconvenienced by our early arrival."

"Oh, I do not think that will be a problem at all," the young dwarf smiled. "I am Prince Kíli, and I'd be happy to show you into the mountain."

Bjor's eyes bulged out of his head. The dwarf before him was dressed in nothing more than a light shirt and a pair of shorts that barely passed his knees! He wore no shoes, and his hair was gathered into a high ponytail. The only signs of high status were shining golden beads that hung from a few braids, but they were all caught up in the scruffy ponytail. But despite all of this he claimed to be the prince?

At the pause, the dwarf looked down at his attire and laughed. "Oh! My clothes! Forgive my attire – we weren't expecting you for a little while, and I thought I'd do a spot of gardening. The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, second best time is today, as the Gaffer back in Hobbiton would say. Come, I'll bring you to the outer guards and let my Uncle know that you're here."

"We would appreciate that," said Bjor slowly.

"Wonderful," Kíli smiled warmly, dusting his hands off on his trousers. "Let's go!"

Bjor was not sure what to say to that, so he smiled and nodded. "Of course…"

"Come this way!" Kíli beckoned, striding back towards the mountain. A nearby albino, most likely his bodyguard stood up and followed just behind the prince. A huge wolf whined, and then loped along beside the young prince, startling the entire delegation. "I'm sorry, don't mind the wolf. This way."

The prince signalled up to the guards, who opened the huge doors. The envoy followed the barefoot dwarf into the mountain and subjected themselves to the usual security questions. Kíli remained with them throughout, talking quietly to the albino dwarf at his side. At some point a smartly dressed hobbit walked in and clipped him around the ears, to the entire envoy's shock. Bjor supposed that it must be the famed Bilbo Baggins – father of Erebor's lost prince. The halfling scolded the prince, who looked suitably abashed, and pushed a neatly folded bundle in his hands. Then he bowed slightly at the envoy and disappeared.

By the time that Lord Dwalin was fully satisfied, the young prince was wearing a green waistcoat and deep red jacket.

"I can take you up to the throne room to see the king now," Kíli smiled. "And I'm so sorry, my manners are appalling, I forgot to introduce Bragi, my bodyguard."

"It's a pleasure. Do you spend much time gardening, your highness?" Bjor asked.

"Oh, when I can. I've been helping Bilbo in the garden for as long as I can remember, and I do miss it. And hobbits get very grumpy if you don't get them outside every now and again." Kíli said lightly.

"May I ask how many hobbits live in the mountain?"

"Uh," Kíli counted on his fingers. "Twelve. Five adults, seven children."

Bjor nodded slowly. He was not quite sure what he thought of a dozen creatures of a different species living in the Lonely Mountain, but despite common belief not all Ironfists made up their minds at the drop of a hat. Bjor would study these hobbits, and if he did disagree with their residence in a dwarven city he would simple sever ties with the mountain. The Orocarni were rich in both mines and pockets in their own right, and there would be no point troubling further with the dwarves of Erebor if they did not wish to.

"Here we are," Kíli pushed open the door to the throne room and led them down the impressive walkway.

At the end of the hall was an occupied throne, flanked by two empty, stately chairs. There were only three guards in the room – a dark haired dwarf who stood before the throne, facing them, a young looking dwarf to the king's right and a pointy haired red head with interesting eyebrows lurking behind the throne. Two women stood nearby.

When they reached the dwarf sitting in the throne, he bowed his head. "Welcome to Erebor. I am King Thorin."

"Hail, King Thorin," Bjor bowed low. "I am Lord Bjor, son of Lord Bjorák, High Lord of the Orocarni and King of the Ironfists."

"Well met, Lord Bjor. I trust that your journey was peaceful?"

"As can be expected, indeed."

"I am pleased to hear it. I would expect that you are weary – if it pleases you I will have someone show you to your rooms and we can begin negotiations tomorrow."

The entire delegation bowed, and Bjor put a hand over his heart. "We would appreciate that greatly."

"Of course. Kyrri will show you to your quarters, and Alva and Bilha will be at your service for the duration of your stay." The guard before the throne and the two young women stepped forward. "If there is anything you need they will do their best to help you."

"Indeed," Bjor stared at Bilha's rather appealing silhouette. Perhaps this trip would not be a total loss, even if they came away with no political allies. "My thanks, your majesty."

Thorin Oakenshield's eyes twitched, something that even Bjor did not notice. "You are welcome. Alva and Bilha are among our best Hostesses, and they are deeply valued members of the royal household. Bilha, in fact, is currently courting my nephew, Kíli."

Kíli and Bilha both blinked, but the prince's recovery was immediate.

"Uncle," he blushed. "It's early days!"

"Indeed, forgive me, Kíli," Thorin said, staring down Bjor. "This is not common knowledge, and we would appreciate it if it remained that way."

"Of course," Bjor inclined his head, slightly annoyed at his own misunderstanding. He had forgotten how prudish the Longbeards could be.

"This way, my Lords," Kyrri bowed, and the envoy left the throne room with the hostesses, leaving Kíli and Thorin alone with Bragi, Nori and the other guard, Colborn.

"So, Uncle," Kíli said, hopping onto the smaller throne at Thorin's right hand. "How long have I been courting Bilha? It was certainly news to me that we are courting at all!"

"I am sorry, Kíli," Thorin sighed heavily. "But I did not want any misunderstandings about our women's roles toward the envoy."

"So you lied to them. That makes perfect sense."

Thorin put on his 'warning tone.' "Kíli-"

"Oh, I understand why you did it!" Kíli nodded. "But do you really think that he would have… you know… propositioned her?"

"Aye, or forced himself upon her if he believed that her protests were part of an act. In certain parts of the Orocarni, they treat women very differently, and throughout the region it is not uncommon for visiting lords to be presented with concubines to 'use' for the duration of their stay. I have visited Bjorák's halls twice in my life, and both times I was given two or three women to 'use to my heart's content' while I was there. I declined, of course. It unsettled me, and I was never quite sure how consensual the women were. But for our Ironfist visitors, that would be the norm. And if any of the Lords had acted as according to his customs, it would not only have been a political disaster, but it would have been horrific for Bilha and Alva, and I will not have that in my city," Thorin rubbed his forehead. "Oh, this week could not go by fast enough."

Kíli paused, and then grinned and patted Thorin's arm. "Don't worry, Thorin. I'll talk to Bilha. I'm sure that we can 'court' until they go, and I'm also sure that Nori will stop any assassins before they manage to hurt anyone."

"If we drew up treaties and alliances with the Orocarni dwarves, we would be substantially stronger, and we can deal with any new Ironfist traitors – they would be more likely to listen to their own King. At least that is what I believed, what Balin suggested. Now I'm not so sure."

"We'll be fine," Kíli promised. "Balin knows what he's doing."

"Balin said it would be a gamble."

Kíli paused. "Ah…"

"I cannot believe that the first view of Erebor's royalty that Bjorák's son had was of you in your gardening clothes." Thorin shook his head, but there was a wry smile on his face. "At least you've proved that you're not afraid of getting your hands dirty."

"Bilbo clipped me around the ears," Kíli smiled sheepishly. " _Kíli Baggins, I did not raise you to be running around in such an outfit in public, let alone when there are ambassadors here! You grub of a boy!"_

Thorin laughed aloud. "Yes, he does have quite the temper, your hobbit."

"Only when it comes to me," Kíli boasted. "Right, I'm off. I promised the little ones I'd take them swimming after we planted all the seeds."

"Swimming? In the Secret Cavern, I presume?"

"Yep," Kíli grinned. "Thank you, by the way. The pulley system made a wonderful birthday present."

"You're welcome. It's all well and good structurally supporting the old tunnels, but you could not take children down as it was, even on a rope ladder. They'd get tired and fall off."

"You should meet us down there."

"I cannot, Kíli. I must be readily available while the Ironfists are here."

Kíli scuffed his feet and tried not to look too disappointed. "Oh, alright."

"When they leave," Thorin promised. "I will free an entire day, and I will come swimming with you all."

"Yes!" Kíli beamed. "Thank you, Uncle Thorin!"

The king chuckled. "You are welcome, Kíli. If only all the world were as easy to please as you are, hm? Now, run along. You don't want to leave the children waiting."

Kíli bowed flamboyantly and began to back away. "Of course, my king!"

Thorin rolled his eyes as his nephew bounded away, tearing off the jacket as he went. The king heard the soft conversation of Bragi and Nori stop suddenly.

"Bollocks… Kíli! Wait for me you stupid oaf of a prince!" the albino dwarf laughed and ran after him, pausing only to give a hasty bow to Thorin. "Come back here before I pull your ponytail off!"

Nori emerged fully from the shadows. "Well, all things considered it didn't go too badly. You'd think Kíli would've figured out how to be a royal by now, but-"

"I do not want him to. He behaves as according to his station when he must, and that is enough for me."

"Oh, aye, me too. I wouldn't have him any other way. Just makes me laugh, that's all." The thief-turned-spymaster stretched out his arms. "Right, my prodigies are in position. Any ill-meaning move on their part and I'll know about it. Dwalin's coming around the corner to take my place as guard, and I'm going to go and break it to a thirteen-year-old hobbit that I won't be coming swimming _again_ because I have to keep an eye on those blasted Ironfists."

"Good luck," Thorin nodded sombrely. Pimpernel 'Nelly' Took, Nori's self-proclaimed best friend, was not the tantruming sort, but if you got on her bad side you had best be checking your bed for spiders or toads.

Watching Nori disappear, Thorin stroked his beard. It certainly complicated things, having so many hobbits in the mountain, but he did not regret it. After one private and two scarily public assassination attempts aimed at the prince's father, public opinion was so emphatically in favour of the hobbits had the few nobles still protesting their presence, and the union between Dís and Bilbo, stood down. The courtiers, for the most part, had been won over by the hobbits' hard work and generosity, but even more so by their cheery smiles and friendly dispositions. The general population had long been won over by their ready hearts and easy laughter.

If the Ironfists were not won over, Thorin would weather the storm. If, for whatever reason, they could not come to an agreement, Thorin would cut his losses and move on.

His life would never be simple, but when he thought of all he had, Thorin agreed with Nori.

He would not have it any other way.

It just gave him a headache. That was all.

 **I hope you liked the first of my little drabbles! It's a scene that didn't quite fit into** ** _Strangers Like Me,_** **and one that I hope will introduce any new readers to the concept :)**

 **Coming up next will be either:**

 ***Kíli and the hobbits' first return to the Shire**

 ***A piece on Dís and Bilbo**

 ***The parcel that Sam receives from his father**

 **Let me know what you'd like to see the most, and if there's something not on the list tell me that too! I'll pop it on the list and maybe even do it next :D**

 **Thanks for reading, please leave a review if the fancy takes you!**

 **PS – if this story has tickled your fancy, go and check out** ** _Strangers Like Me,_** **the fic on which it's based! I'd like to think that you won't regret it ;)**


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